"Ebony, are you ok?" Carter said, walking towards me as he cleaned his blood-soaked hands on a towel.

"No," I shook my head and stared at a photo on the wall of Janet and myself on a boat in our bikinis. We went to Mexico two years ago and had the time of our lives. She was my closest friend, one of a few people in this world that I truly cared about, and now she was gone because of me. Tears fell from my eyes as I pictured her in my mind.

"I'm sorry, baby, I never meant for any of this to happen," Carter said gently, kissing the top of my head.

"Why do innocent people have to get hurt? She did nothing wrong," I yelled, kicking the wall so hard it left a hole. "Janet was my friend. She was my family," I cried as I wiped the tears from my eyes.

"Ebony," Carter said in my ear. "I'm sorry this is happening to you and people you care about. I never intended for any of this to happen."

"She didn't deserve to die, Carter. She had nothing to do with this. I should have been the one who died," I turned to look at him. "That should have been me,"

"NO," he bellowed loudly. "Don't you dare say that you deserve to die. I will not stand here and listen to that. I'm sorry that your friend was hurt, I truly am, but I need you to stay strong and survive because, without you, I have nothing to fight for. I will turn this world upside down and inside out for you and the people you care about." he wrapped his arms around my body and held me tightly. "The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him." He said softly in my ear. "To get through a war, a man needs something bigger than himself to fight for, and you are why I am fighting this war, Ebony, and I will not allow yourself to have such thoughts. You are the only sunshine in this horrid world right now, and we need you to shine and give us hope that what we are doing has some meaning. War is never easy, but right now, we don't have a choice. I will fight for you and everything you love, so you will never feel pain again. I will avenge your friend and make them pay for hurting her," he said softly as he wiped my tears with his finger. "They will pay for all of this."

"You promise," I sniffed, resting my head on his chest.

"Until my last breath, baby," he said, kissing the top of my head. "I will make them all pay for your tears."

"Thank you," I whispered, looking up at him.

"I would do anything for you," he kissed me softly. "I love you so much."

"I love you too," I smiled as I reached up and kissed him again. "Can demons feel pain?" I said, looking back over the now torn-up body that lay on the floor.

"Well, that one sure as fuck did," he shrugged.

"Good," I kissed him again.

-------
Does everyone understand the plan?" Carter said as we all stood in the kitchen of my apartment.

"Question," Jake said, raising his hand like he was in school. "How does one kill them things again?" He said, subtly pointing to Janet's bleeding corpse on the floor. "It's been a while."

Carter cleared his throat as he looked over at me, then quickly looked away. "You simply cut its throat and let the demon be sucked back into hell," he said quickly, looking to the ground. "You must make sure the throat is cut deep for this to work."

"That's right. I remember now." Jake nodded in agreement. "Question," he raised his hand again. "Is anyone else completely creeped out by these things? I mean, they take over your body and walk around like everything is sweet," he made a face and shivered. "It's creepy."

"That's why we must close the portal and stop them from coming out," Carter said calmly. "Now, everyone knows the code word?"

Everyone nodded.

"If at any stage you feel something isn't right with one of us, you simply ask them for the code word. The demon will not know the code word, and you have permission to kill."

"Jake, what's the code word?" Callan smiled, pressing his lips together.

"Callan has a baby dick," Jake replied, waving his little finger in Callan's face.

"Kill him. He's clearly possessed," Callan laughed, walloping Jake in the arm.

"At least I don't have a baby dick." Jake grinned, punching Callan in the leg.

"Enough," Carter yelled loudly. "We don't have time for this. We close the portal, kill Leon and save the fucking world," he banged his fist on the kitchen counter. "Does everyone understand?" He yelled impatiently.

"Yes, boss," Jake saluted him.

"Roger that," Callan nodded.

"Right. Henry has gone to tell his father about this and will start to look for the portal. We all stick together until further notice as we are stronger together."

"You complete me," Jake said, putting his hand on Callan's shoulder.

"You are the wind beneath my wings," Callan said, wiping a pretend tear on his cheek.

I tried not to laugh as Carter closed his eyes and shook his head at them both. "My brother has an army, and all I have is Tweedle-dee and tweedle dumb."

"Sorry, boss, my emotions got the better of me," Jake said, clearing his throat and trying not to laugh.

"Does everyone understand the plan?" Carter repeated, trying to ignore Jake and Callan's snorting and laughter.

"Yes, sir," they both answered together.

"Fan-fucking-tastic," Carter said, rolling his eyes.

"Are you feeling ok?" I said, rubbing Carter's back as he leaned on the counter and hung his head down. "Carter, if you're not up to this, we can wait."

"I'm fine," he said abruptly, standing up quickly and running his hands through his dark hair.

"You're still weak."

"I'm fine," he repeated in the same tone as before. "Are you ready?"

"Yes," I nodded as my stomach flopped.

"Let's do this then," he said, reaching out for my hand and pulling me out the front door.

"Boss, we have a problem," Jake said, suddenly stopping in front of us and sniffing the air.

"I can smell it," Carter growled. "SHOW YOURSELF," he bellowed, pulling me behind him.

I heard a loud howl from the darkness of the street in front of us.

"NOW," Carter yelled again, even louder than before.

"She belongs to us, not you." The voice growled from the darkness of the night.

"Excuse me?" Carter bellowed at the growling voice in front of us. "I hope by she you are not referencing my girl because that will only end in your death."

"She belongs to us, not a disgusting half-breed like you. If you do not willingly give her back to us. I will take her by force. This is your last warning," it said, sounding closer than before.

"Try it and see what happens," Carter said, suddenly holding my hand tightly.

"What is going on?" I said nervously, looking around my surroundings. "Who is that?" I stopped talking when an oddly familiar scent filled my head. I knew it instantly, yet I had no idea why.

Carter looked down at me, sniffing the air, and looked back at Jake, who was watching me closely.

"See, she knows she belongs with us and not a hideous creature like you. She can't fight her instinct. She won't be able to," the voice said. "She knows."

"We are the ones who truly care for her. Ebony, will choose her family and me over any of you." Carter said, bearing his teeth.

"Her family?" The voice said, amused. "You think you are her family? Does she know the truth, Carter? Did you tell her the truth about you?"

"The truth?" I looked up at Carter, confused at these words. "What is it talking about? Carter, what is going on?" I felt an urge to run towards the voice flow through my veins. "Why do I feel a sudden pull to run towards a perfect stranger, Carter? What is this?"

"Ebony, I can explain," Carter said, sounding a little nervous.

"You haven't told her the truth, have you? Have you been lying to her this whole time? You are even more sadistic than I remember," the voice said, cutting Carter off.

"Carter?" I said, dropping his hand and taking a step back. "What is going on?"

"I can explain. It's not like I ....Shit," he yelled, closing his eyes. "It's a long story, baby, and I'm sorry. I should have been honest with you about everything, but I knew you would never forgive me." He touched my face gently with his finger.

"And now she never will," the voice said slowly.

"Who are you? Show yourself right now," I yelled towards the voice before Carter could even speak. "Show yourself to me." I took a step in front of Carter.

The night went quiet. It went so quiet that all I could hear was Carter's heart beating so fast behind me that I thought it might burst right out of his chest.

"NOW," I screamed, losing my temper.

"Ebony, wait. Let me explain to you first." Carter said, grabbing onto my hand.

"NOW," I yelled again, ignoring Carter and pulling my hand away. "I'm not in the mood for these games."

"Ebony, please. It was a long time ago, and I was going to tell you when the time was right." Carter was standing next to me now. "You need to listen to me, baby. Please."

I heard a loud howl in front of me, and then more howls joined in. The darkness was suddenly filled with the haunting sound of a pack of wolves howling.

"Ebony, please. I was going to tell you," Carter said, reaching for my hand. "I'm not that monster anymore," Carter said, kissing my hand.

"Hello Ebony," a voice said softly in the darkness. "I know you don't remember me, it was such a long time ago now, but I'm ...."

"Edward?" I said, closing my eyes and listening to my instinct. "I know you."

"Yes, you do," the voice said. "I have been searching for you for such a long time," I watched as a man about my age emerged from the shadows in front of me. He looked just like me, and I instantly knew who he was. The connection with him was so strong that I had no control over myself at that moment. I lunged at him and wrapped my arms around him tightly as I cried tears of joy.

"Edward," I said, looking into his dark eyes. "My brother, Edward."

"I have spent so long searching for you, Ebony. I was so worried about you," he said, hugging me tightly. "They stole you from us, and I thought that maybe you were dead."

"Stole?" I said, pulling back. "Who stole me?"

Edward's eyes fell on Carter. "Why don't you ask the vampire that question?" Edward sneered at him.

"Carter? No, he didn't steal me. I work for him, and we are getting married, but he didn't steal me," I said, shaking my head. "He would never do that."

"You don't remember any of it, do you?" Edward said, looking back at me.

"Any of what?" I said, baffled. "What are you talking about?"

"Ebony, I have something to tell you," Carter said slowly. "I should have told you this before, and I am truly sorry."

"Tell me what?" I said, looking into Carter's aqua eyes. "You're scaring me right now," I said, taking a step back. "Carter, why is my brother saying this about you? Please tell me that it is not true." I took another step back from both of them.

"I want you to remember how much I love you and how much you truly mean to me." Carter reached out to me, but I did not move.

"Tell me the truth," I growled at him.

"Tell her monster, or I will," Edward said in Carter's face.

Carter sighed loudly. "Ebony," he stopped talking and closed his eyes before continuing. "I made a mistake a long time ago, and I am truly sorry for that."

"Tell her what you did," Edward hissed at him. "Tell her what you truly are."

"Carter, what did you do?" I sobbed, wiping my tears. In my heart, I already knew what he was going to say.

"I can't lie to you, Ebony. I should have told you, and I'm sorry." I watched as Carter looked away from me. "This was a long time ago, and I'm not that monster anymore. I've changed."

"Stop stalling, Vampire," Edward said with a growl.

Carter looked up into my eyes and took my hand in his. "Baby, I did something that I should never have done."

"He killed our parents, Ebony," Edward said, pulling me away from Carter's grasp.

"No," I shook my head. "Carter would never do that to me. You must have him confused with his brother. Carter, tell him it wasn't you."

Carter just shook his head softly. "I was after wolf blood, and I found you and your family in the woods. Your father was one of the strongest wolves in the pack, and I hunted you down and used you to bait your parents." he closed his eyes. "I tortured your family relentlessly as I drank their blood. I killed everyone except....."

"Except my brother and me," I said, suddenly remembering my family. "You killed my pack."

"Yes," he nodded, looking disgusted with himself. "I'm sorry, baby, I didn't know any better. I'm a changed man now."

"Why? Why us?"

"I was after their blood. It was like a drug to me, and after killing one, I had to keep going. I swear to you I was going to tell you."

"No, why did you leave us alive?" I said sternly. "You killed everyone else but us. Why?"

He looked at the floor and rubbed his temples. "Because I wanted to keep you around so I could drink your blood whenever I wanted. I kept you as my pet," he sighed. "I gave Leon your brother, and I kept you." He kept his eyes on the ground.

"You kept me against my will?" I said, staring at him.

"Yes."

"I was a child, and you kept me, prisoner?" I said, taking a step towards him.

"Yes," Carter said, looking up. "I'm sorry, Ebony; I didn't know any better back then. I would never hurt you now. Please, you have to believe me."

"You let me go. Why?" My memory was suddenly flashing back into my mind. I was so young and scared, and I had no one, no family, nothing. "You took me to the hospital and left me there. Why did you do that, Carter? Why not just kill me like my pack?"

"Because I grew to care for you, and I didn't want to hurt you anymore. My brother told me if I didn't kill you, he would. So, I put a memory spell on you and left you at the hospital. I'm so sorry, baby." He looked up at me with tears in his eyes. "I didn't want to hurt you anymore, and I thought you would be safe at the human hospital."

"He is a monster who killed our family for the pure joy of it, and now he is manipulating you to think you are one of them. He is pure evil." Edward said in my ear as I looked at Carter.

"I told you I was different when I was hungry. I told you about the monster deep inside me." Carter said, hanging his head in shame.

"That monster I saw when I first met you was the real you, wasn't it?" I said, taking another step closer to him. "That was the monster who tortured my family and me, wasn't it?"

"Yes," Carter said softly. "The monster knew you."

"How are you different from that monster, Carter?"

"Because I couldn't kill you like the monster wanted. The monster inside me tried, but I could never do it. You were so innocent, and the way you looked at me with complete fear, I couldn't do it. I knew you were different, and I knew you were something special. I had to get you out of there, and so I left you at the hospital and ran as fast as I could away from you. I knew the power you had over me, and I had hoped.."

"You hoped what?"

Carter sighed loudly and ran his fingers through his dark hair. "I don't want to do this ...."

"Tell me," I said sternly.

"I had hoped in time I would have the strength to kill you and your brother and end that dark time in my life. I knew you would eventually remember what happened, and you would hunt me down."

"You used me?"

"Baby, no. It's not like that anymore. I love you, and I would never hurt you." He reached out to me again.

"But your plan at the start was to kill me?"

He went quiet as he stared at me, his heart pounding in his chest. "Yes, I first hired you intending to kill you, but yet again. I couldn't do it, and instead, I fell in love with you." Carter looked into my eyes and reached out his hand. "Baby, I never meant to fall in love with you, but I do. I adore you."

A tear fell down my cheek.

"I know you are hurt and mad at me right now, but I would never hurt you again. I love you more than anything, my beautiful sunshine. Please believe me." He took my hand in his and kissed it gently. "I would die before allowing you to get hurt."

"He is a monster, Ebony, and he will end up hurting you," Edward said. "He killed our family in cold blood, and he will finish the job. Come with me, and I will protect you from him and his brother. I will take you home."

"Ebony, please. I could never hurt you." Carter said gently.

"But you already have Carter. You have already hurt me more than I ever imagined. You ruined my life, and for that, I cannot forgive you. I just can't." I shook my head.

"I told you, vampire." Edward hissed at Carter. "She is ours now."

Edward took my hand from his and pulled me away from Carter Morgan.